The AC72 “Luna Rossa” wing-sail catamaran, who raced in the final of the Challenger Selection Series of the 34th America’s Cup (San Francisco 2013), was introduced to the media today in her new location at the Aero-Naval Pavillion of the National Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci” of Milan.
The catamaran will be on permanent display until the end of 2017, year in which the 35th America’s Cup will take place (Bermuda, June 2017).
The catamaran was transported from the base in Cagliari to Milan where she was once again reassembled. The boat was then lifted and suspended at a height of over 5 meters to allow full observation and unobstructed view of all the boat details, both from the ground and from the gallery of the Pavilion.
In the coming months an additional exhibition will be set up that will feature, with interactive media, the design complexity of this unique boat; the show will display the details of all the components as well as the history of the America’s Cup and of team Luna Rossa.
Patrizio Bertelli, Team Principal of Luna Rossa Challenge, declared: “The presence of Luna Rossa at the National Museum of Science and Technology is a recognition of the technical and design value of team Luna Rossa and of its prolonged ability to compete at the highest levels in this field for over 15 years. This boat has certainly been one of the most extreme expressions in the history of yacht design: she is half boat and half airplane and has brought intense emotions to all sailing enthusiasts and, especially, to her crew. We are therefore particularly pleased to bring this testimony of Italy’s design talent to the general public and to the younger generations.”
Fiorenzo Galli, General Manager of the National Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci” commented: “The Luna Rossa project enters in the tradition of a museum born with the mission to narrate modernity during a historical age in which Italy was transforming itself from agricultural to an industrial nation. The myth of speed and the pride for the national technical and industrial skills have always been represented in the collections of the museum, also through display of record-setting sports tools that belong to the memory of entire generations. Today Luna Rossa allows us an in-depth view of how the world of sports has changed in the last decades in the relation between industry, media and society. This technological hybrid, result of a convergence of nautical and aeronautical technology, finds her natural home in one of the exhibition areas of the Museum that is best-loved by the public; it is an invitation to discover from close-up the role of science and technology in the eternal quest of humanity to reach beyond its limits.”
Max Sirena, skipper of Luna Rossa Challenge, closes the conference: “The exhibit of the AC72 Luna Rossa at the National Museum of Science and Technology of Milan is an extraordinary opportunity to bring the world of sailing and of the America’s Cup to the general public. The Museum, whose prestige is renowned internationally, especially for its Aero-Naval Pavilion, is the optimal choice to display this “flying catamaran”. This boat is the link between aero and naval technology. I also want to congratulate and thank Bruno Finzi, Luigi Maffioli (Technical Director of Gottifredi Maffioli, who produced the cables on which the boat is suspended) and the Luna Rossa shore crew. Their contribution has been essential for the outcome of this project: the assembly and suspension of Luna Rossa inside the Pavilion has been, unto itself, quite an achievement!”
Brief history of the AC72 catamaran :
The AC72 catamaran was launched in Auckland (New Zealand) on October 26th, 2012 in view of the 34th America 's Cup held in San Francisco in the summer of 2013. The catamaran left New Zealand March 25th, 2013 and on May 18th the team resumed its training on the water in San Francisco to prepare for the Challenger Selection Series where the team reached the Finals for the third time in its four America's Cup campaigns.
On October 22nd 2013, the Luna Rossa catamaran left the United States by ship and after 33 day reached Cagliari, Sardinia, where team Luna Rossa set up its new base to prepare for the 35th America 's Cup (Bermuda , 2017) .
On February 16th, 2015 the AC72 was moved from Sardinia to the National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci" in Milan, where it will remain on permanent exhibition.
Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci": Via San Vittore 21, Milan
From Luna Rossa
